Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump arrives for his election night rally at the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Alex Pappas & Alex Pfeiffer
The Daily Caller
Donald Trump is contemplating naming a number of recognizable players from the 2016 campaign to serve in senior White House roles, according to an internal transition document obtained exclusively by The Daily Caller.
The list was provided by a member of the transition team on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the press. Described as a “working” document, it is being used to help the president-elect envision a White House staff structure, the source said. Some people are listed more than once.
It includes names like Trump campaign chairman Stephen K. Bannon, RNC chairman Reince Priebus, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn.
Bannon — who was executive chairman of Breitbart News before joining the Trump campaign — is under consideration for chief of staff, as is Priebus. The choice here could be telling about Trump’s strategy for working with Congress: Bannon, who is proudly anti-establishment, detests House Speaker Paul Ryan while Priebus and Ryan are close allies.
Like chief of staff, a number of the roles listed seem to include both insider and outsider options. For example, Kellyanne Conway, a longtime Republican pollster, is in contention with Corey Lewandowski, who worked with the New Hampshire state police until 2010, for the position of senior adviser.
Lewandowski is also in consideration for the role of deputy chief of staff for planning, as is Katie Walsh, the RNC’s chief of staff. As for White House counsel, the list includes both Alan Garten, the general counsel at the Trump Organization, and Donald McGahn, his campaign attorney, as options.
Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller — an immigration hawk and former communications aide to Alabama GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions — is under consideration for a variety roles, including deputy chief of staff for policy, director of speechwriting, director of the domestic policy council and director of communications. Miller often warmed up for Trump during rallies in the Republican primary and embodies Trump’s message of limited immigration, free trade skepticism and distaste for the donor class.
Miller isn’t the only former Sessions aide being considered for a Trump administration. Rick Dearborn, Sen. Sessions’ chief of staff, is listed as the sole option for leading the office of legislative affairs.
Like Sessions, former GOP Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers, formerly the chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, appears likely to have influence in the Trump administration. He is being considered for both national security advisor and assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. His former chief of staff, Andy Keiser, is also being considered for the position of deputy national security advisor.
Two other people listed for national security advisor are retired Army Lt. Gen. Micheal Flynn, who served as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama, and Stephen Hadley, who served in the same role under former President George W. Bush. Flynn, Rogers, and Hadley are all hawkish. Flynn has called for the destruction of the Syrian city of Raqqa, Hadley served as deputy national security adviser during the invasion of Iraq and Rogers said in 2014 that ground troops should be deployed to fight the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
As for White House press secretary, the list includes some memorable faces from the campaign: former Ted Cruz aide and eventual Trump spokesman Jason Miller, top RNC aide Sean Spicer and Conway.
Here is the list obtained by TheDC:
Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff
Stephen K. Bannon, Reince Priebus
Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.
Keith Kellogg, Mike Rogers
Assistant to the President and Press Secretary.
Jason Miller, Sean Spicer, Kellyanne Conway
Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning.
Corey Lewandowski, Katie Walsh
Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy.
Stephen Miller, Sam Clovis
Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor. Michael T. Flynn, Mike Rogers, Stephen Hadley
Assistant to the President and Director of Speechwriting. Stephen Miller, Cliff Sims
Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement.
None listed
Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations.
David Bossie, Katie Walsh
Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor.
Clare Lopez, Walid Phares, Andy Keiser
Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council.
Stephen Miller
Assistant to the President and Director, Office of Legislative Affairs.
Rick Dearborn
Assistant to the President and Director of Communications.
Jason Miller, Stephen Miller, Cliff Sims
Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor
Kellyanne Conway, Corey Lewandowski
Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council.
Dan Dimicco, David Malpass
White House Counsel
Don McGahn, Alan Garten